European startups
fromThe Verge
2 hours agoSorry kid, drones are for war now
The US ban on DJI has not led to increased opportunities for other drone manufacturers, who are focusing on military contracts instead.
The initiative will allow companies developing electric air taxis to begin real-world testing across multiple states, marking one of the most significant steps yet toward a new era of urban air mobility. While commercial services are still a few years away, the coming trials will see these aircraft move beyond demonstration flights and into operational environments.
This flight test showcases the potential of airpower built on mission autonomy. Across platforms, domains, and environments, Hivemind provides resilient mission autonomy, proving that software is central to the future of airpower. Our collaboration with Anduril reflects a new era of defense acquisition, where autonomy is treated as a foundational warfighting capability on par with the aircraft itself.
The airspace over Los Angeles is among the most congested in the world, but the Hollywood Burbank Airport is uniquely situated, creating extremely tight parameters around the midsize airport.
Palmer Luckey's eyes light up, and he talks a mile a minute, when discussing his company's new recruiting event: the AI Grand Prix. This is a drone flying contest with a twist. Rather than humans operating drones, the drones must operate autonomously. The humans will be tested on their software-writing skills that cause the drones to outfly their competition. There are prizes ranging from a $500,000 pot to be spilt amongst the highest-scoring teams,
"We were completely controlling the drone from the helicopter. For us, it's of course unique. Today, what we performed is a world first," Gerin-Roze told reporters on Thursday at the Singapore Airshow. The software is part of Airbus' contribution to the surging industry for drone wingmen, which the world's biggest aircraft manufacturers are betting will be the future of air warfare.
Introduced on Friday, Feb. 13 by Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., the AI Workforce Training Act would modify the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to support tax credits for companies providing AI training to employees equal to 30% of the qualified expense with a limit of $2,500 per employee. Eligible expenses are listed as accredited courses, workshops, certificate programs and in-house instruction covering areas like data literacy, machine learning fundamentals, prompt engineering, AI ethics education and more.
Since the collision on January 29, 2025, between an American Airlines flight from Wichita and a military helicopter on a training ride, military pilots have had to broadcast their precise GPS-based location data to other aircraft and to air traffic control, something they frequently skipped before the crash. The FAA has also barred all but the most essential helicopter traffic along the Potomac near the airport.